Next chairman 'should abolish role'

The next chairman of the BBC Trust should promise to "abolish the role", saving "millions into the bargain", according to the man who masterminded the corporation's Olympics overage.

Roger Mosey, whose career at the BBC included stints as editor of the Today programme, controller of Radio 5 Live and head of television news, said the Trust "simply hasn't worked as a regulatory body".

In a letter to the London Evening Standard, he said: "Much of the red tape associated with the trust can be scrapped and it's perfectly possible for content regulation to be done by Ofcom or the like. After the failures of recent years, the best chair would be someone who promises to abolish the role as it currently exists, saving us millions into the bargain."

Earlier today, Channel 4 chairman Lord Burns ruled himself out of the running to replace Lord Patten as the head of the BBC Trust.

The former civil servant and academic said he was "very happy" at Channel 4, where he has been since 2009.

He has been among the names mentioned as a possible replacement for Lord Patten, who announced he was standing down this week "on the advice of my doctors" after having heart surgery.

Lord Burns told reporters: "Being chairman of the BBC Trust, I don't think is one of the things that is still on my list of ambitions. That's a rather shrinking list, as you can imagine.

"I am very happy doing what I am doing."

A trust spokeswoman said: "Roger Mosey is entitled to his opinion, but under the Charter the Trust has an important role in representing the interests of licence fee payers and safeguarding the BBC's independence."